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By Gilianne Kathryn L. Gantuangco
Special to The Manila Times
We are currently in the midst of
a Cebuano musical invasion. Urban Dub, Jr. Kilat, Sheila and the
Insects, Faspitch, Ambassadors and Cueshe are just some of the band
that have continued to dominate the nations’ airwaves or earn the
accolades of critics the past few years.
And the prodigious overflow of
talent from the island in the South shows no signs of abating.
Renowned for world-class artistry, Cebuano bands are also
responsible for many local English songs indistinguishable from
foreign ones—understandable since Tagalog is not their lingua
franca. But now, there’s an album that gathers some of Cebu’s
most promising bands that is proudly in Visayan and is adamantly
nationalistic. It’s bisrock (Visayan rock) that’s maayo kaayo.
Dilaab (conflagration or tongues
of fire) Foundation, Inc. has produced an album based on the book 12
Little Things Every Filipino Can Do to Help Our Country by Atty.
Alexander Lacson, aptly called Nasud Ko (My Nation). Dilaab believes
that the idea was a creative way of linking love of God to love of
country. And that Bisrock is an excellent medium for getting civic
virtues into the mainstream.
Eleven bands have volunteered to
compose one song. Each song talks about a value that each Filipino
citizen should wholeheartedly follow for a better and more united
nation. Some of the bands who stepped up where Aggressive Audio with
“Support your Church,” Assembly Language with “Do not Buy
Smuggled Goods, Buy Filipino,” The Agadiers with “Be a Good
Parent to Your Child,” Mantequilla with “Pay Your Taxes” and
Phylum with “Respect the Authorities.” The album’s eponymous
carrier single “Nasud Ko” was composed by Fr. Carmelo Diola.
Even before the album’s
conception, these bands have been making songs and have been getting
attention locally. Assembly Language, for example, bagged the
“Best Bisrock Pop Song of the Year, 2007” for their song “Chinita.”
The Agadiers has also won three Battle of the Bands in Cebu and has
successfully released their album in 2005, and their second album is
currently in the works. And just recently, Phylum was featured in
the television public service program Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho.
Cebuano pride and nationalism are
prime values for these musicians. According to the members of
Aggressive Audio said, “We want Cebuano rock music to be heard and
appreciated and we want people to know that our music can be other
than just being folk and country songs.”
“Dilaab is a nonprofit
religious organization. We volunteered to be a part of the album
because it is also our way of showing the Lord our gratitude for
having this talent in music,” said Phylum’s lead guitarist
Charleston Miparanum. Indeed, this is the first time for a locally
compiled album to be produced and the responses have been
overwhelming, especially from the youth bracket. Credit this to the
fact that Bisrock has a huge following in Cebu and in the
neighboring Visayan regions as well.
“The album allowed us to
venture to a new horizon and it’s a good way of changing the world
through music. It shows that change can happen by following the
simple rules we’ve known all along,” said lead vocalist Alaine
Agadier of the Agadiers.
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